Last night, seated in the back of a black SUV and driving home from the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, I looked in amazement at a message posted on Facebook. It seems these days I resort to news via social media than anywhere else. Either way, I was a bit disappointed with my hacked iPhone and its lethargic 2g internet speeds.  I was squeezing, shaking and speaking poetic words to my phone in an attempt to load an La Times blog.  I noticed after searching Safari the story had been updated within the hour, THIS was a hot one.  Plus I knew there had to be some validity to it if the Los Angeles Times had scooped the story up.  I had a feeling this sort of news was going to happen but for some reason I didn’t want to admit I first heard it on Facebook.

Many of you may not know, but your boy picked up a job with Benny Hinn Ministries after working for nearly 3 years in corporate and celebrity public relations in Los Angeles.  While PR was an incredible learning experience, it was during this time when I found my personal accomplishments at a high and my soul at an all time low.  Drugs, sex and lies were blinding every decision, I needed a way out.  To my ridiculously, shocking surprise, I received a phone call from Benny Hinn, asking if I wanted to meet and hang out.

It didn’t take long to see he was a tastemaker and influencer in his own way.  After a few times of hanging out it became apparent he wanted me on his staff.  While I wasn’t too keen at joining forces with Christians and dumping the Hollywood lifestyle, I knew I had to make a choice.  I began to see vividly the choices I was making were destroying not only my life, but others around me.  I was 26 years old and I needed to make a good decision on this one. I didn’t want to (expletive) this up.

Someone asked me recently why I made a decision like that and left a life of Hollywood to escape to a Christian lifestyle?  Was it that I couldn’t hack it? Was I not talented enough or didn’t have the work ethic? Do you consider yourself a failure?

Each of us need to be asked these questions.  We need to always check where and what we are doing in order to ensure we are heading in the right direction.  We should be successful in what we do but we also need to understand the environment. Environment will determine much more than what a job may entail.  The cast and crew around you will determine the life in which you will live.  Your lifestyle happens by design or default and you get to choose.

Benny Hinn gave me an opportunity no one else gave me at that time.  There is no way on earth any Christian environment would have hired me.  I still drank more than I should, cussed more than I should and did a bit more bird watching than I should.  What I did tell myself and Benny was that I wouldn’t do drugs.  This was the only area where I personally knew I had to change.  The other stuff, I was just hoping would dissipate.

I was terrified at first to travel the globe and work for the one of the most famous preachers in the world.  What if I slipped up and lost my job? What if I couldn’t hack it? I had not only changed jobs but had moved to the unsexy Orange County.  This was a huge blow to my personal accomplishments.  I no longer had that LA zip code, no longer walked to the front of the line or scored premier passes.  No longer was I getting comped clothes for clients or free backstage passes.  This move took every ounce of personal respect I thought I had and pissed it out the window.  I was starting from scratch…

Fast forward 4 years…